Interesting points I’ve read recently in this area: A national test creates cohesion in a society in that it defines what knowledge is valued and aligns people

Interesting points I’ve read recently in this area: A national test creates cohesion in a society in that it defines what knowledge is valued and aligns people around it. Will we lose this benefit if the test is dropped? The tests and other admission criteria are heuristics for talent, motivation, etc. those motivated to gain prestige in this way will attempt to max these out. But might we not encourage a better use of this energy than the maxing out of simple skills(eg error free, quick arithmetic vs going forward to study number theory)?